History of Maternity Leave in the US
Last Updated on November 13, 2023 by VantagePoint
Maternity Leave Law – Updates
As of April 1, 2020, small businesses with fewer than 500 employees are required to provide emergency paid sick leave and family leave benefits to employees impacted by COVID-19, according to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. In 2020, eligible employees in 5 states either have access to paid family and medical leave for the first time or receive updated benefits.
Important Paid Family and Medical Leave Updates by State
New York employers are in the middle of a four-year phase-in for the state’s Paid Family Leave benefit. As of January 1, 2020, the newest update includes required paid family leave for eligible farm laborers.
As of July 1, 2020, California’s state paid leave policy was increased from six weeks to eight weeks of benefits.
Washington employees have access to paid family leave for the first time in 2020. The state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave law stipulates that as of January 1, employees can apply to up to 12 to 18 weeks of paid leave if they have worked a minimum of 820 hours in a year.
Nevada’s Mandatory Paid Leave law went into effect on January 1, 2020, and it requires that private employers with 50 or more employees must provide .01923 hours of paid leave for each hour of work performed to all employees (including part-time staff members).
In the District of Columbia, as of July 1, 2020, all private employers must provide up to eight weeks of paid parental leave to bond with a new child, six weeks of paid family leave to care for an eligible family member with a serious health condition, and two weeks of paid medical leave to care for their own serious health condition.
In New Jersey, As of July 1, 2020, the amount of paid leave employees can take doubled, going from 6 consecutive weeks during any 12-month period to 12 consecutive weeks.
History of Maternity Leave
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) mandates a minimum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child.
However, this federal law has a number of requirements that must be met in order for a company to be required to comply with the law.
While this law covers more than just maternity leave, an employee must work at a company that has 50 or more employees AND has worked for the company for a minimum of 1 year with at least 1,250 working hours accumulated over the last 12 months.
In addition to FMLA, a number of states have started to legislate more extensive maternity leave and sick leave benefits. Each state has its own unique requirements: some states require smaller employers to provide unpaid time off while other states offer paid time off.
Knowing the rules that apply in the states in which you operate is critical to being compliant with the law.
One way to minimize your risk is to use payroll solutions that help you manage the complex web of state and federal laws that govern this type of leave.
How Maternity Leave has Evolved in the US
Maternity leave has evolved as women’s participation in the workforce has evolved. According to the US Census Bureau, in the 1960s, only 14 percent of mothers returned to work within the first 6 months after birth and 17 percent returned within the first 12 months.
By 1991-1994, these figures rose to 52 percent and 60 percent, respectively. In the 1960s, it was simply expected that a woman would leave her job upon becoming pregnant, so no HR solutions were required.
In 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed and is still in effect today. This law prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and childbirth in employment, including decisions related to hiring, firing, and promotions.
At the time of its passage, there was no federal law that mandated leave, but states started enacting their own laws.
In 1987, a US Supreme Court Decision in California Federal Savings and Loan Association v. Guerra upheld a California law that required most employers to give pregnant women four months of unpaid disability leave and the right to return to the same job. By 1993, a similar law would pass at the federal level – FMLA.
While the legal requirements have evolved slowly over the last few decades, companies have come up with their own maternity and parental leave programs that they believe make them competitive in the marketplace.
With the help of an HR consultant, you can design a program that would augment your employee benefits package with HR solutions tailored to your workforce.
How Maternity Leave in the US Compares to Other Countries
The US lags behind other countries when it comes to maternity and parental leave. It is the only country that belongs to the Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) that does not offer paid leave.
It is important to note that many countries do not give time off that is fully paid, but time off is partially paid (the rates vary by country and can be hard to compare because there are other types of leave that are given beyond maternity care).
In most countries, it is the government, not individual companies, that provide payments for the duration of the leave in a way that is similar to the Social Security Administration providing retirement benefits in the US.
The Evolution of Paid Leave
Over time, the idea of maternity leave has evolved into “family leave” in the US, with fathers and non-traditional families taking advantage of bonding with children, including adopted children.
While women do require time to physically heal from childbirth, the role of both parents in bonding has gained awareness and increased in importance.
Company-designed HR solutions should be reviewed to ensure they are not discriminatory, particularly as it relates to gender discrimination.
The evolution from unpaid to paid leave has been slow across the US. In 2015, the Department of Labor estimated that 12 percent of private-sector workers had access to paid family leave through their employers.
States have slowly started to introduce paid leave legislation. Typically, this legislation covers time off to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a new minor child.
In 2018, there are four states that offer paid family and medical leave, which includes maternity leave. These states are California, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. Washington will become the fifth state with paid family leave beginning in January 2020.
These programs use existing temporary disability insurance programs and are funded through employee tax deductions. Washington D.C. also has a paid family leave program that imposes a tax on employers, which is different from existing programs that tax employees.
Where Paid Leave is Heading
Paid leave is likely going to continue to expand, although progress may be slow. California has had a paid leave program for more than a decade with workers contributing a small amount in payroll deductions.
As New York and DC begin their experiment with paid leave, their success or failure will likely have an impact on the debate. In some states, there are initiatives to get paid leave on the ballot for the midterm elections.
Other states may have legislators that want to enact more progressive leave policies.
The Department of Labor under President Obama funded feasibility studies that examined the impact of paid leave programs and supported states in developing their own programs. President Trump put forward a plan in 2017 and endorsed paid family leave during his 2018 State of the Union address, but as of Spring 2018, no bills have been signed into law.
However, various members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have taken up the issue of paid family leave and it is likely that changes will be forthcoming in the future. Exactly what those changes look like remains to be seen.
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